.
It was only a matter of time before Google became a military power, and now, with its Android army marching forward at a furious pace, it has finally happened. Or should we say ‘app-end.
Yes, that’s right, smartphones could become the next best thing on the battlefield, with Patriot missile defense system maker Raytheon laying down its plans to develop software to track down terrorists in the field using Google’s Android. Less “search,” more “seek and destroy.”
Google maps? Bah, it was all just a developer platform for powerful aerial imagery software which can CSI-style zoom in on pinpointed targets from either satellites or unmanned drones.
“We’re trying to take advantage of smartphone technology to tailor for what soldiers may need in the field,” Mark Bigham, vice president for defense and civil mission solutions at Raytheon, told Reuters.
Google Goggles algorithms? Why, they’re just perfect for facial recognition, just point your cell phone at a subject in the field and shoot (with your camera first, presumably).
As for social networking, why, that takes on a whole new meaning in the field. Bigham reckons the software would allow soldiers to “buddy” and geotrack each other in order to know who NOT to fire at. We can see it now, “Sergeant X has sent you a nonviolent poke notification,” “Like!”
Meanwhile, if you’re a terrorist not on the buddy list, watch out, because Google’s Android software will identify and destroy you. Well, identify at least.
“Google has helped us push the limits of the phone,” Bigham says proudly, apparently failing to see any downsides to the aptly named Raytheon Android Tactical System (RATS). Indeed, he posited, Google could stand to make oodles of cash from flogging its software and algorithm know-how to Raytheron, which could then act as the middleman between Google and the various armies of the world.
Do no evil, but have someone else do it for you.
Apparently India’s military is quite interested in using RATS too, a potentially huge market. And who knows, if Google can completely patch up its differences with China, that would be another nuclear power added to the axis of Android.
Raytheon says it has been experimenting with its software on phones from Motorola and HTC (Hero?) but it’s unclear which models would end up being optimal for military usage. The costs per soldier would be around the same as any other unlocked smartphone without a contract, so around $500, although seeing as most defense budgets run into the gazillions, we’re sure someone will find a way to charge $5000 per handset.
Sounds good, but are the drawbacks? Battery life for a start. It’s doubtful whether soldiers would be happy using a phone that needs to be recharged every few hours, and as for the easily breakable screens and flimsy casing, well, we’re not convinced those would even make it through basic training.
But as for security concerns should the phones find themselves in the wrong hands, Raytheon believes it has that aspect covered. State of the art encryption software and communication abilities even in remote areas, he says, would be part of the smartphone’s secret sauce, as would identity recognition software and GPS tracking.
Personally, we’re not as convinced as Raytheon about its security airtightness. It’s far more likely that should devices like these end up in the field, they’d spawn a whole new army of geeks sitting at home trying to hack soldiers by making smiley faces appear on their phones mid-mission.
Personally, none of this surprises us. We always knew Google had killer software.
